Sehnsucht Ist So Grausam
by Chipolata
Summary: Piccolo feels alone, until a terrible crime is committed. He has nowhere to turn for help, or does he? Will a higher power with a hidden agenda prolong his misery, or bring him ultimate happiness?
1. Chapter One

**Sehnsucht Ist So Grausam  
**_by__ Chipolata_

A word from the author before we begin the story:

As many of you might have noticed, not long ago removed this story and banned me from posting, quoting the "Not Allowed: Real Person, Chat/Script, Interactive, MST" rule. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this, I can only assume they removed my story because of the large, script-format author notes featured at the beginning and end of each chapter.

However, as you can see, I have re-posted the story at the request of my fans (ie Faye). To ensure that it is not removed in the future, I have cut my author notes from the chapters in favour of this introductory passage. Also, I have taken advantage of this small break in my life and my submission rights to make minor changes to the story: chapters have been merged, spelling and grammar corrected, small sections rewritten to make better sense.

To eliminate reader confusion or anger:

_Sehnsucht__ Ist So Grausam_ is the title of a Rammstein song. It means, 'Longing is so cruel'.

_Warm fuzzies_ is a greeting, used by my old principal.

This piece contains 'yaoi' or 'shonen-ai' themes. That means, it features homosexual relationships, or implies them. I would hope nobody has a problem with this.

There are references to rape. They begin the end of chapter two. Readers should note they are only references, and my piece does not contain any graphic scenes of sex, or violence.

- Standard disclaimer goes here -

* * *

**Chapter One**

Gohan pushed Piccolo against the wall and began to roughly kiss him. He held Piccolo around the waist, massaging his sides. Piccolo responded by wrapping his arms around Gohan, pulling the half-saiyan closer. The two continued to kiss, tongues exploring, pulling closer and closer...

Gohan pulled off briefly, to take a breath. Staring into Piccolo's deep black eyes, Gohan held his hand to Piccolo's face, gently stroking the Namek's lips with his thumb. With a soft, loving expression in his eyes, he whispered.

"I will always love you, Piccolo."

Gohan leaned in for another kiss, and--

_BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP_

Piccolo was knocked from his pleasant dreams by the harsh tones of his alarm clock. With a groan he reached out from under the covers, hitting the 'off' button and turned the clock to face him.

10:30 A.M.

Piccolo sat up, shocked that he had slept in, and that his alarm clock had failed to wake him until now. He rubbed his eyes, trying to activate the rest of his brain. As he felt the grey matter start up, his thoughts turned to his dream.

He'd been having a lot of dreams like that lately, and not just about Gohan. It seemed that all of the Z-warriors had showed up, with even Tien making a guest appearance.

Piccolo had often pondered his strange dreams. Surely, as a Namek, he shouldn't consider such acts, especially not subconsciously?

The answer often fell on his upbringing. After all, he was raised on Earth, among a people who seem to be dominated by sexuality and its purpose. It could be that living with that his whole life meant that the ideas had rubbed off on him.

He heard giggling behind his closed door, and suddenly realised what had happened to his alarm clock.

'So, Dende decided to play a prank, eh?' he mused.

Then he heard another voice which made him freeze.

Gohan.

"Maybe I should wake him up?" Gohan suggested from behind the door.

"Okay, better you than me. I'd be dead the minute I stepped in the door." Dende said.

'Oh, you bet.' Piccolo thought.

Then, in a flash of inspiration, Piccolo put the clock back where it had been, lay back down in his bed in the position he woke in and began to meditate.

Gohan opened the door and saw what he thought was a sleeping Piccolo.

'How can he sleep so long?' he wondered, as he tip-toed into the room.

Dende remained in the doorway.

Gohan walked over to the Namek's bed and gently shook Piccolo's arm.

"Piccolo? Time to wake up!" he said, softly.

Piccolo was deep in his meditation by now. He still knew what was going on around him, of course. That was all a part of the plan.

"Piccolo?" Gohan asked, a little louder this time.

Gohan was worried now. During his training before the Saiyans came, Piccolo would constantly complain that Gohan's loud voice had woken him up, even though Gohan was only murmuring about pancakes and maple syrup. He'd gotten the idea that Namekian hearing couldn't tolerate much during sleep.

Gohan put a hand to Piccolo's forehead. Frightened, he pulled away. He knew that Nameks had a lower heat tolerance level than humans and that therefore Piccolo's body temperature would be lower, but Piccolo was practically stone cold!

Gohan placed two fingers on Piccolo's neck, searching for a pulse.

"What's wrong, Gohan?" Dende whispered from the door.

When he didn't find what he was looking for, Gohan turned to Dende and said, "I think he's dead."

Dende rushed to Gohan's side, and looked at his unmoving half-brother.

"Wha..? But how - and what - dead?" Dende was shocked.

The two were silent.

"M-Maybe you should try and revive him." Gohan suggested, on the verge of tears.

Dende moved closer and extended his hands over Piccolo. Pushing back a large wave of emotion, he tried to summon the concentration required for healing, when suddenly--

"BOO!!!!!" Piccolo shouted, jumping out of bed.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" The two teenagers yelled.

Dende collapsed in a dead faint.

Piccolo fell back onto the bed, laughing his head off.

"PICCOLO!!!" Gohan yelled, attacking the hysterical green man. "What the HFIL were you THINKING?!?!? We thought you were dead!"

"He deserved it." Piccolo said, calming down enough to talk. "Serves him right for messing with my alarm clock."

-

It was just another ordinary day. The 'playing dead' incident was over a week ago, so Piccolo and Dende had forgiven each other. Piccolo, instead of his usual training and meditation, had opted to spend the day lazing about in the hammock he'd strung up between two of Mr Popo's palm trees.

The breeze was soft and cool, and soon Piccolo's thoughts began to wander. He remembered how the rest of the Z-gang had reacted to the story of him playing dead to get Dende for stuffing up his alarm clock. Almost everyone reacted the same way:

"Yeah right, Gohan, no way. I know Piccolo, he wouldn't do something like that, he's too serious."

Of course, they hadn't been there. Nor did they live with Piccolo, which in itself could be considered suitable punishment for Cell. But not because it was strict.

But Goku had reacted differently. He laughed, and told Gohan,

"I wish I'd thought of that!"

Piccolo smiled. Goku seemed ready to accept anything Gohan told him. Almost like he had this sense which told him what was the truth and what wasn't.

Piccolo was just about to consider why the other Z-warriors hadn't made much of an effort to know him when Gohan flew over the edge of the look-out in his Great Saiya-man outfit. Gohan turned to Piccolo in his hammock and waved.

"What are you doing up there, Piccolo?" he called.

"It's my day off." Piccolo replied, getting up and floating down to his friend.

"That's good. Apart from the fact that I like dropping by, I'm here to extend warm fuzzies from Bulma." Gohan said. "She's having a party; all the Z-warriors will be there. She'd like you two to come."

"Sorry, Gohan. I can't make it, I'm too busy." Dende told him.

"I'll be there." Piccolo said.

"Great! It's tonight, at about 5:30. And bring your bathers, they have a pool at Capsule Corp and Bulma wants it used." Gohan said.

"I don't have any swimwear." Piccolo admitted.

"That's okay, I'll get Dad to take you some." Gohan said.

Gohan began to take off.

"See you later, Piccolo!" Gohan called, and flew off.

Piccolo was left speechless. Him, swim? Like that would ever happen!


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

To say that Bulma was surprised when she opened the door to Piccolo was an understatement. It took her a couple of seconds to gather her wits, after all, Piccolo usually just landed in the backyard. Add in the fact that he wasn't wearing his usual gi, and that what he was wearing might be considered fashionable, and you might be amazed that Bulma was still standing.

"Piccolo?" Bulma asked. "Why are you here?"

"Gohan said you were having a party and I was invited."

"Yeah, that's right." Bulma was still a little stunned. "... Sorry, I wasn't expecting to open the door to you. Come in. Everyone else is in the backyard."

"Thanks." Piccolo walked in self-consciously. Maybe dressing differently was a mistake.

ChiChi chose that moment to walk in through the sliding glass doors from the yard with the empty Cheezel bowl.

"Bulma, we're out of Chee--" ChiChi stopped when she saw Piccolo.

Piccolo could feel his cheeks heating up.

"Uh, thanks." Bulma hurriedly grabbed the bowl and rushed to the kitchen.

ChiChi just stared.

After many moments of silence, Piccolo decided to move outside, away from ChiChi's gaze maybe into some corner where he'd feel a little more comfortable.

"Piccolo! You made it!" Gohan cheerily greeted the Namek. "I like your outfit."

"Hi Gohan." Piccolo said, still kind of red from ChiChi's reaction.

Like Gohan had told him earlier, Piccolo could see that all the Z-gang had made it: Krillin and 18, with baby Marron, Goku and Goten, Yumcha, who seemed alone, Tien, Chiout-zu, Launch, Videl, all enjoying the party. Piccolo scanned the crowd of people he called his friends.

Then he spotted someone on the diving board that made his skin crawl. Big and blue, wearing nothing but a pair of board shorts and his customary black hat and sunglasses, and attempting to dive with a monkey jumping about him, was King Kai.

Piccolo shuddered.

"Oh, King Kai? He seems cool." Gohan said, noticing Piccolo's stare. "Dad introduced us earlier, but I guess you already know him. Apparently, Grand Kai gave him permission to visit down here for a little while, it's some Kai privilege. When Dad mentioned the party he asked if he could come. Bulma said it was okay."

Just as Gohan finished, Vegeta, clad only in board shorts, snuck up on King Kai and pushed him in. King Kai emerged from the water spluttering, while Vegeta laughed.

"Hey Gohan!" Gohan and Piccolo turned to see Videl running up.

"Hey Videl!" Gohan greeted her. "Have you met Piccolo? He's the guy who taught me how to fly."

"Uh, yeah…" Videl began to falter. "Gohan, let's go for a swim." she said, grabbing Gohan by the arm and pulling him to the pool.

Piccolo smirked at the behaviour of the two teenagers, finding it obvious that they both liked each other a lot. He could tell that they were going to end up marrying, have lots of kids, and ChiChi would die a happy woman. With that thought done with, he spotted the snacks on the tables, and decided to conduct his own taste-test.

Munching on a handful of corn-chips, Piccolo walked down the row of tables which ended not far from the edge of the pool. Just as he was about to sample the fairy bread, Piccolo heard quick footsteps behind him. Before he could turn, Piccolo had been shoved hard into the pool by Vegeta.

Once he'd emerged, Piccolo could hear everyone laughing. Going slightly red in the cheeks, his brilliant mind came up with another simple yet astounding plan.

"Very funny Vegeta," he said, sighing with defeat. "Okay, help me out again." Piccolo held out his hand.

Vegeta, who had been gloating at the pool's edge, grabbed Piccolo's hand to pull him out. Unfortunately for him, this is what Piccolo had been counting on.

Piccolo pulled down, hard, and sent Vegeta toppling into the water behind him!

Vegeta surfaced to a laughing Piccolo, who had swum over to the ladder.

"Hmph," Vegeta hmphed, partly in admiration for the sneaky trick.

Piccolo climbed the ladder and retreated inside. His new boots made a squelching noise as he walked. When he got to the door he took off his boots and socks, not wanting to mess up Bulma's house. Not that the service droids couldn't handle a wet spot.

Piccolo marched to the hallway and picked up his daypack, which he'd dropped on his way in. He had predicted something to the sorts that he had experienced, and packed a change of clothes. Backpack in hand, he located the bathroom, threw his bag over next to the bath and closed the door.

Leaning against the vanity unit, he peeled off his wet jacket and threw it over the shower door to dry. He then began to struggle with his black shirt, but it was sticking to him like a second skin.

Just then, Goku opened the door and waltzed in. He strode straight up to Piccolo.

"Hey Piccolo, don't mind me. I need the sunscreen; Bulma said it was in here." He said, and proceeded to lean up against Piccolo, reaching for the blue bottle on the top shelf of the cupboards.

After a few stunned moments, Piccolo managed to gather his wits. He poked Goku in the ribs and growled. Goku, arm still outstretched to the elusive Le Tan, looked down at the green man.

"Did I step on your toes or something?" Goku asked.

When the only reply he got was a Death Glare complete with bared fangs and a low growl, Goku half-shrugged and made a quick leap for the bottle, snatching it from the shelf. Unfortunately, this caused him to fall on top of Piccolo.

The Namek was not pleased. Either Goku was even more of an idiot than it sometimes seemed, or this was some kind of really full-on advance.

He shoved Goku off his chest.

-

"What are you doing, Three?"

"Taking things into my own hands, Nine."

"Your own hands? Without consulting me?"

"The Earth-Namek is not only the concern of the Ascension, Nine. I have my job to do too."

"How dare...? You'll ruin everything!"

-

Goku was unsure about why Piccolo had shoved him off, but he supposed the Namek wasn't used to people that close to him. He reached out his hand to Piccolo's shoulder.

"Sorry, I guess I didn't think about that jump." Goku apologised.

"Hmph." Piccolo replied, just wishing Goku would make up his mind and leave.

Goku's hand moved up to Piccolo's chin. Recoiling a little, Piccolo was going to protest. Then he saw Goku's eyes.

They were glazed over, unseeing. The blue bottle dropped from Goku's hand to the tiled floor. The bathroom door closed unbidden. The lock was heard. Piccolo shivered as a chill ran down his spine.

-

"Three! Stop it now!!" Nine demanded, stepping forward with his fist clenched.

Three could only laugh her reply.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Goku snapped out of his daze. He was in the hallway outside the bathroom. He couldn't remember anything, like how he'd managed to get the sunscreen off the shelf and get where he was. He could remember reaching, then... nothing.

Realizing he had what he came for and that going in and asking would not only be silly, but annoy Piccolo even more than he had been, Goku pushed his worries aside and walked off down the hall, whistling.

-

Piccolo felt the whistling grate on his ears even through the door. It seemed to cut through and bring reality to it all. It had happened. Piccolo broke down into tears.

He sobbed to himself for what seemed like an eternity. All the time he tried to disbelieve. Goku wouldn't do that. He wouldn't! He's not that kind of person.

But the pain was there. The shame, the utter humiliation. He knew it was real. He thought he was past it, he thought it was strong enough to stop it! He felt so weak, so powerless. Like a child again. Violated and dirty.

So much time passed, until Piccolo slowly realized again that no-one would be rushing to his rescue, no-one would come and help him, tend to his injuries, hold him to their heart, tell him it was okay and it was all over, he'd be fine again soon.

They'd leave him there, feeling hurt and alone in so many ways.

He scrambled for his untouched clothes in the backpack. He pulled them on harshly, wanting to cover himself as quickly as possible.

He had to get out of there. Out of the bathroom, out of Capsule Corps, away from all the people. Away from Goku.

But where would he go? Where was there to go that was safe from the Saiyan? Surely not at the Tower. Nor the valley. Somewhere safe. Truly safe.

Piccolo remembered. He painfully got up, opened the door, and limped out into the hallway.

Nobody saw him leave.

-

It'd started raining a few minutes ago. The gentle pitter-patter on the window pane was soothing and the warmth of the apartment was comforting. The TV was on but silent, the characters on screen miming a long love story.

Minerva was on the phone to her boyfriend of five years, Geoff. He was overseas on a business trip, but that didn't stop him from dumping his money on long phonecalls to her apartment.

Well, technically, it wasn't hers, but her roommate's. She didn't even pay rent on her room. He'd insisted on that. And he was never there, except when he dropped by to listen to her problems.

Geoff may have been her true love, but Piccolo was her guardian angel.

Eventually, Geoff had to put down the phone or his work would make him incur the cost. They both regretfully said goodbye and hung up.

Min got out the tea set to make herself a cuppa before going to bed. She had work early the next morning, and she didn't want to be late because her subconscious decided to ignore the alarm clock to get more sleep.

She put the kettle on the flame.

Suddenly, she heard a large THUMP on the front door, accompanied by a deep moan of pain. Whatever had run into the door proceeded to hit the door, almost breaking it.

"I'm coming!" She yelled.

Then, cautiously, holding the handle and hand halfway to the gun hidden in the coat rack, she called out, "Who's out there?"

"Please..." Piccolo moaned from the other side. "Please just open the door..."

"Piccolo!" She breathed.

Quickly, she opened the door. Piccolo was lying against the frame, cheeks still wet, still sobbing.

"Oh my Kami, what happened? Come on, get inside." She made a futile attempt to lift the Namek by his arm.

Piccolo lifted himself up and she led him to the sofa in front of the TV.

Grabbing a blanket and wrapping it around him, she asked, "Did you fly here in the rain? With out a raincoat or scarf or.... shoes? Why do you have no shoes or socks?"

Piccolo didn't say anything, but drew the blanket tighter around himself.

"Stay here," she told him. "I'll make us a cup of tea."

She realized that the front door was still open, and closed it, looking to see if Piccolo's shoes were there. When she found none, Min went into the kitchen, taking the kettle off the flame before it started whistling.

The tea tray rattled as she carried it to the lounge room table. Min poured Piccolo a cup and offered it to him. Piccolo didn't move to take it.

"Take it." She insisted, and when he didn't reply, she put it on the armrest next to him and poured her own tea.

"So." She started. "What happened?"

Piccolo shivered, and drew the blanket closer still.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened." She said, mimicking one of the first things he said to her. "That is why you're here, isn't it? For help?"

"Safe." Piccolo mumbled. "Safe here."

"What from?"

"Goku." Piccolo shivered again, and curled up into the sofa.

Minerva was confused. Piccolo had often mentioned Goku in their conversations. Her impression was that he and Goku were good friends. Why was Piccolo running from him?

Piccolo had started crying again. He was shaking. Min sat next to him, and pulled him closer to her.

"Shhh..." She told him. "It's okay now. You're safe. It's just you and me now, you're safe."

Piccolo sank into her kind, warm hug. He believed her.

It wasn't long before he fell into a light sleep.

-

"Three." Nine confronted his colleague in the hallway.

She ignored him, and tried to push past him. He grabbed her arm. She turned and looked at him.

"I have nothing to say to you, Nine."

"Why did you do it?" He demanded. "Do you realize what you've done? You've ruined all that I've worked for. It took me so long, and you've thrown it to the dogs! You may have damned them all."

Three smirked. "Like you were? How was your stay in Hell, by the way?"

"I was locked in a cage with a bunch of morons for eight years. How do you think it was?"

Three chuckled. "It was only eight years, don't be so uptight."

"Eight years is a long time for a mortal. And it's obviously long enough for the rest of you to forget about the doom which is upon us! Have you all forgotten what I'm working towards? That move you made with Goku was against all the rules!"

"Against the rules?" Three turned on Nine. "What about you? Inserting Cell in the timeline is a clear violation of the Prime Directive!"

"And taking Goku's mind is not?" Nine countered.

"You're out of practice, Nine. What was Cell there for? To help the Earth-Namek ascend! You didn't count on the Demi-Saiyan at all. As a Power, you should be considering all angles! You're lucky the Mortals have access to the Eternal Dragon, or the Buu incident would have ended as a complete disaster!"

Nine didn't answer. Three pulled her arm out of his grip. It was hard to tell what Nine was thinking, the hood on his cloak covered most of his face.

"You'll thank me for Goku's actions. You just wait and see."


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

It was breakfast time at the Son's house. Last night's rain had ended, and the sun was peeking over the horizon. Goku, Gohan and Goten were eating with their usual enthusiasm. It was Sunday, and all three were looking forward to a great day of training.

The phone rang.

"I'll get it." ChiChi offered, and got up from the table.

"Hello?" She asked into the phone.

"Ah, hello ChiChi. It's Dende."

"Dende? I didn't' get to talk to you at the party. How are you?"

"Oh, fine. Busy, but that's how the job goes. I was wondering, is Piccolo over with you?"

"Piccolo? No, he isn't."

"He didn't come home last night. I wouldn't normally be worried, but I can't seem to find him anywhere. Would Gohan know where he is?"

"Just a sec."

ChiChi turned to the table.

"Gohan, do you know where Piccolo is?"

"Huh?" Gohan replied with a mouth full of pancake. "Piccolo? No. Why?"

"Dende can't find him. Do you know who the last person to see him was?"

"I think it was me." Goku told her. "He was in Bulma's bathroom getting changed out of his wet clothes."

ChiChi relayed this to Dende.

"Did anyone see him leave?" Dende asked.

"No," ChiChi told him. "We had to have dinner inside because of the rain, and when we went to find him, he wasn't there. He left most of his stuff, so he must have left in a hurry."

"It isn't like him to just leave, or to leave his stuff behind." Gohan commented. "I mean, he didn't even say anything to me."

"I guess I'll get the same thing from Bulma, eh?" Dende asked. "Thanks, ChiChi, I'll take another shot and finding him. We'll have to hope that he's not in any kind of trouble."

"Okay then Dende. I hope you find him."

Dende said goodbye and hung up.

ChiChi began collecting up the empty plates.

-

Minerva was on the phone to her boss, trying to get out of work that day so that she could tend to Piccolo. Her boss was reluctant but understanding.

Piccolo had gotten no sleep that night. He had been plagued by horrid nightmares and memories, and by fear. He'd spent the entire night watching TV.

Minerva sighed as she watched him switch through the channels mindlessly. She was used to him having so much strength and life to him, but now he was a broken shell.

She knew what he was going through. She'd been through it herself. That was how they'd met. She'd been running away from the men who had abused and tormented her for a lifetime, and had run into the large Namek.

She sat down next to him on the sofa.

"Why aren't you going to work?" He asked her.

"Called my boss and told him I can't come in."

"Why'd you do that?"

"You'd have done the same."

Piccolo continued flicking the channels around.

"Tell me about what happened." She asked him.

Piccolo didn't reply. She grabbed the remote off him and turned the TV off.

"Tell me what happened." She repeated.

Piccolo seemed to consider his reply.

"Bulma... was having a party. At her place. I went. I was pushed in the pool, so I went to the bathroom to change. Goku came in, said he wanted the sunscreen. Then... then he..."

Piccolo started sobbing and whimpering.

"It's okay." She told him.

Piccolo pulled the blanket up again.

"You need to have a bath or something. It'll make you feel better, I promise. Just to clean yourself up, and get some different clothes on."

She helped Piccolo down the hall to the bathroom.

-

Dende flopped back into his big chair after three straight hours of scouring the Earth's surface for Piccolo. Of course, he didn't expect to find anything. If Piccolo didn't want to be found, you wouldn't find him even if he was in the next room.

He sighed. Eight years into the job and he'd already lost his older brother. Even Kami was better than that, and he was considered one of the worst Guardians ever. But, to be fair, he didn't have a brother like Piccolo.

Dende considered just waiting for him to turn up. After all, Piccolo was very capable of taking care of himself. And he hadn't checked in with King Yema yet.

But Dende couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"I can find him. He's got to be somewhere." Dende rubbed his brow. What was it that Piccolo told him?

"Just because you can't find an answer, doesn't mean there isn't one."

"Okay then," Dende said to himself. "Piccolo isn't dead. That means he's on our plain. He can't have left the planet. That means he's on the Earth. Okay, that's cut out a lot of search time."

Dende heaved a big sigh and tried to think.

"I've searched the entire planet over for his ki signature. Even if he was hiding it, I'd have found him. He needs to be somewhere that blocks ki energy. Places like that need to be maintained by strong magic so most of them disappeared a long time ago."

Of course, Piccolo knew ki-shielding magic, something his father had passed on. Piccolo couldn't have kept it up for this long, he wasn't powerful enough.

"Is this some kind of test?" Dende began to rage. "Find the missing person? Thought you'd go away for three days? See if I can find you? Well I can't! And I've been searching twenty-four hours a day!"

He slammed a fist against the arm rest.

"Is it too much to ask for ONE PHONECALL to tell me you're alright?!?" He yelled.

_RING-RING_

_RING-RING_

Dende eyed the phone on the wall suspisiously.

_RING-RING_

_RING-RING_

Ever so slowly, Dende extended an arm to the phone, picked it up, and brought it to his ear.

"Helloooo?" He asked, slowly.

"Hi Dende!" It was Gohan. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Never mind. Hey, have you found Piccolo yet?"

"No." Dende replied. "I can't find him at all. At first I thought it was just him playing a prank or testing my Guardian's abilities, but it's been so long. I'm beginning to think something's wrong."

"Well," Gohan said, "I think I might have a clue. Dad told me that something weird happened last time he saw Piccolo."

"What?" Dende demanded.

"Uh, maybe he'd better explain it."

Dende could hear the sound of the phone changing hands.

"Hi Dende!" Goku cheerful voice came down the line.

"Hi Goku. Gohan said something weird happened in the bathroom Piccolo was in?"

"Well, I don't remember, and that's what's so weird. I remember walking in, grabbing the Le Tan, putting my hand on Piccolo's arm, I was apologising. I think. Anyway, everything goes blank, and the next thing I remember is standing out in the hallway with the sunscreen in hand." Goku paused for a moment. "I didn't think to say anything then because that'd just annoy the HFIL out of the guy, and he was already a little peeved. I wish I had now."

"What was the bathroom like later?"

"Well, normal. Except Piccolo's stuff was still there, his jacket over the shower door, backpack on the ground, and a whole heap of his clothes all ripped up."

"Ripped up?"

"Yeah, like they'd been torn off..." Goku trailed off. "Oh man, something bad really has happened!"

"I still can't find him." Dende sighed. "He's hidden on purpose, Goku. Was any of his stuff missing?"

"It's hard to tell, we didn't know what he had in the first place."

"Okay then." Dende paused to think. "Do you think Bulma would mind if I popped round to have a look for myself?"

"Probably not." Goku told him. "Hey, I'll come round too. I'd like to help you in any way I can."

"Thanks, Goku. See you there." Dende hung up the phone.


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

"The time of the end is approaching." Nine told the room. "The day of judgement is coming. Everything will be destroyed, and it's not happening next millennium. It's not going to happen next century. If the translation of the prophecy is correct, then disaster will be upon us in the next few months."

"You worry too much." The wise One chuckled from the end of the table. "Your time as a mortal has softened you, and made you paranoid. This coming disaster is horrible, true, but only the mortals shall suffer. It is true, we must protect them and help them move forward, but even we have our limits."

"You're wrong." Nine told him. "This is not just about the mortal realms. This great evil will spread to the higher worlds of the Kais. It will reach past the living, through the dead, past the Dead Zones and eventually will reach us. Then we will end."

"Impossible!" Five exclaimed.

"He's right." Seven agreed. "They both are. What you claim is impossible, Nine, and One was right when he said your time as a mortal made you paranoid."

"I also question your methods." Three spoke up.

"YOU question MY methods? What about your own?" Nine raged at her.

"You have absorbed the Human way. You seek minimal damage, even when that could cause more damage that you avoided!"

"Striving for perfection are you?" Nine sneered. "It's easy to see where I got Cell's personality from."

"I'm flattered."

"All this debate is fine, my friends, and we could sit here for ten millennia discussing truths and methods. All we want to hear is what you have planned, Nine." One asked.

"I need to go down there, one last time." Nine told the room.

"Are you mad?" Four exclaimed. "Can't you see the damage you caused last time? It would create more havoc than you can repair!"

"He's right, Nine. I know that the pressure is on you to make the Earth-Namek ascend, but the rules say you must do so without interference." One agreed.

"There is already a place for me there. It's the only way. I'll stop the evil that is coming our way, no matter what it takes."

Nine got up to leave.

"You do know that if you go down there, we have to punish you." One reminded him. "You can't just go down there every time you feel like it, and expect us to ignore it."

Nine smirked under his hood. "Another eight years in HFIL? If it means that I get my job done, I think I could stand it. Maybe they won't stuff me in a cell this time."

He turned and left.

-

Minerva was speeding. Oh, you can lecture her all you want. Don't fool yourself, speed kills. Wipe off five. Slow down or this could be you. Blah blah blah. She just wanted to get home.

Two reasons: Piccolo was there. She wanted to make sure he hadn't tried to hang himself or something. Second, her boyfriend was supposed to pick her up in half an hour for a date, and she'd only just got off work.

Screeching into a parking space, slamming the door shut and locked with the keys still on the front seat she rushed into her building, wishing that the elevators could climb twenty floors quicker than this. Once she got to her floor, she battled the wind that threatened to send her flying into Mrs Kamiya's door and finally reached her apartment. Opening the door and slamming it behind her, she collapsed against it with a sigh.

"Piccolo?" She called to the house.

"Over here." He called from the lounge room.

Minerva walked in, dropping her coat on the floor. She was relieved to see that her friend was sitting on the sofa with the remote and not a noose.

"Okay, I have a date in fifteen minutes and I haven't even started getting ready. Don't do anything stupid, alright?" She walked off down the hall.

Min sighed as she stepped into her skirt. Piccolo was so depressed. It was scary, watching him flick the channels, staring at the screen. She was used to seeing him standing there proudly, tall and solid, with that all-knowing smirk on his face. He was a constant, always so strong. One event had sent him crashing down.

The doorbell rang.

"Coming!" She yelled.

She hopped down the hall, struggling to get her heels on and walk at the same time. Eventually, she managed it, and opened the door.

"Min!" Geoff greeted her. "Wow, you look great. You must've spent two hours getting your hair like that."

"Don't kill yourself while I'm gone, Piccolo." She called out to him, and left.

Piccolo watched his movie, observing the fight scene and commenting to himself about how bad their technique was. Once the fight was over, and the movie was getting to the mushy ending, Piccolo couldn't help but feel so alone. How alike his life was to the characters in the movie, and yet so different. In this story, the Hero won the girl after saving her life. Although, it wasn't like he had Min hadn't tried.

Oh, he remembered that all too well. She figured that he was prime boyfriend material, and suggested they go out. He figured he might as well. And things went surprisingly well, the night went without any bad incident other than staring and stuttering at Piccolo's skin and height.

The real disaster was back at the apartment. She'd tried to get him into bed. And being a Namek, they hit certain... complications.

Oh well, you can only laugh.

Piccolo could have pondered further on the subject of his love life, had he not suddenly sensed a large and terrible power that made his skin crawl.

"What?" He exclaimed, leaping off the sofa.

He stared out the window. Surely, there was some kind of mistake? It couldn't possibly be him, could it?

'It could.' He realized.

He headed out the back onto the balcony and was about to take off when a thought struck him down.

Goku would be there.

He struggled with himself for a long time. He had to help. But Goku had to too. How could he go there and face him?

'Its okay, Piccolo. Others will be there. Gohan and Vegeta. They're headed there right now. So he won't try anything. Stop being so paranoid and go help.'

Piccolo slowly lifted off the balcony, and flew to meet the danger.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"That's what he left behind." Bulma handed over the bag to Dende.

"His shirt and pants are missing." Dende said after inspecting the contents.

"You sure?" Bulma asked. "Well, at least he didn't run off naked."

"That's an image I could have done without, woman." Vegeta said.

"Vegeta?" Bulma turned. "What are you doing out of the Gravity Room?"

Vegeta turned to Goku. "Do you feel it?"

"What?" Goku asked, and then focused. "Oh no!"

"What?" Bulma asked.

Dende shook.

"What are you waiting for, Kakarot? Let's get going!" Vegeta ran out the door with Goku not far behind him.

Bulma was confused. "Where are they going?" She asked Dende.

"To face Cell." He replied.

-

Cell stood in the middle of a desert surrounded by rocky plateaus. Eight years. It had been a long time. Life, it was something to be missed. The smell of the fresh air, bright and fresh sunlight, breeze against the skin. He took a deep breath and sighed. Yes, being on the Lower Plain had its advantages.

He could feel the Z-warriors approaching from all sides; Goku and Vegeta from West City. Gohan and Videl from Satan City. Krillin from Roshi's island. Tien and Chiout-zu from the Northern Regions. Yumcha from South City. Goten and Trunks from Mt Paozu. Piccolo from East City.

He grinned.

"Okay, let's try it again." He said to himself, watching the area of space Piccolo would approach from.

-

Goku and Vegeta flew with silent determination towards the large spread of desert where Cell was located.

"Vegeta..." Goku began.

"Yes, Kakarot?" Vegeta replied.

"I was thinking." Goku paused to put his thoughts into words.

"Did it hurt?" Vegeta teased.

"Huh? Oh. Well, I was wondering if we'll be able to beat him this time. I mean, Gohan's been out of training for a long time, and the Buu incident didn't exactly get him back to tiptop shape."

"You and I have both been training, Kakarot."

"Yes, but... Cell's gonna be much stronger, coming back from the dead 'n all."

"Kakarot, you can transform to Super-Saiyan Three. And I doubt Cell has been training in the past eight years. We will beat him."

There was another long pause.

"Kakarot, do you sense what I sense?" Vegeta asked.

"What? Where?" Goku was confused.

"Coming from East City." Vegeta pointed.

Goku paused, reaching his senses.

He laughed, relieved. "It's Piccolo! And he seems okay!"

Gohan had sensed exactly the same thing.

"He's alright!!" He cheered, doing some loop-the-loops in the air.

"Who's alright?" Videl asked.

"Piccolo!" Gohan told her.

Videl focused back on her speed, trying to ignore Gohan's mid-air acrobatics and loud cheers and yells.

-

"What do you think it is, Trunks?" Goten asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it is... it's really strong." Trunks replied.

"Stronger than your Dad?" Goten asked.

"What? No way. My Dad is the strongest." Trunks bragged.

"My Mum told me that my Dad is the strongest, even strongester than your Dad." Goten said.

"He is not!" Trunks yelled.

"Hey, who's that?" Goten asked, pointing ahead of the two.

Trunks focused on the figure flying two miles in front of them.

"It's Piccolo!" He suddenly realized.

"Let's go meet him Trunks!" Goten suggested.

"Yeah!" The pair sped up.

-

Piccolo wasn't going at his top speed. He wasn't even trying. He dreaded what would happen when he got there. Cell was there. Goku was there. He could die. He could be attacked again.

He shivered. It wasn't very often he got scared. And he was terrified.

He felt a little safer now that he'd materialized his purple Gi, cape and turban. He wasn't sure why.

"PICCOLOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" Piccolo heard the high screech from behind seconds before feeling an enormous impact around the midsection.

"What the HFIL??!?" He roared. "Goten?!?"

"Hiya Mr Piccolo!" Goten grinned up at the green man.

"What are you doing?!?" Piccolo yelled, still in shock.

"Just saying 'Hiya'." Goten looked hurt.

Trunks flew up.

"Hi Piccolo, are you coming to face the thing too?" Trunks asked.

Piccolo gathered his wits.

"Yes." Then Piccolo realized something. "Goten, is your father with you?"

"Nah, he went over to Trunks's house." Goten told him.

Piccolo was deeply relieved.

"You two shouldn't be coming." He told them. "That thing up ahead is Cell. You aren't strong enough to face him yet. Gohan barely defeated him last time, and he'll be much, much stronger this time."

"Aw, we'll be okay." Goten said. "Don't worry about it. Me 'n' Trunks are really strong."

"Not strong enough, though. Hey, get off!" Piccolo shoved the demi-Saiyan from around his waist.

Goten chuckled. "You're funny, Mr Piccolo."

Trunks rolled his eyes.

-

One surveyed the hooded figures in front of him. The gap where Nine had once stood was all too obvious. With a heavy heart, he spoke up.

"We all understand the repercussions that may result from this. There is a delicate balance between the Powers." he reminded them.

"With all due respect, One, I don't think it is us who is putting the balance to risk." Three rebutted. "Nine himself has put us all at risk with his reckless behaviour."

The others nodded.

"Then, we are in agreement." One bowed his head sombrely. "How I dreaded the day something like this would occur."

Cell grinned widely.

"The gang's all here. Plus some," he noted, seeing Trunks, Goten and Videl.

"How the HFIL did you get out of HFIL?" Vegeta demanded.

Cell didn't reply. Instead, he turned around, observing the fighters circled around him. To his surprise, #18, Buu and Hercule had neglected to turn up.

He then turned his attention to Piccolo. The Namek was quaking in his boots and trying desparately to hide it. It seemed to be working, for the other warriors, but Cell could see clearly the waves of fear rolling off the terrified fighter. Of course, Cell wasn't quite mortal...

He grinned again, and turned his attention to Goku.

"Today is the day I defeat you all." He announced. "There is no way I can lose. You can surrender now, or you can die slowly and painfully."

"We'll never surrender!" Gohan yelled.

Piccolo looked over to Goku. The Saiyan seemed normal, as if unaware of the torture he'd inflicted. Goku turned his head, and the two locked eyes. Piccolo couldn't stop the cold chill down his spine, making him shiver.

'He's terrified!' Goku realised.

"Who will be the first to lose their life?" Cell taunted.

"You!" Vegeta retaliated, and launched himself at the bio-android.

A fast-paced fight began, Vegeta punching, Cell dodging. The fight slowly lifted off the ground. Suddenly, Vegeta swung back and transformed. The fighters disappeared from sight. The only evidence of the battle was loud explosion-like noises and dust being thrown around at random from the rocky ground.

Goku found his concern outgrowing his desire to watch the fight. Piccolo had crossed his arm. Piccolo never crossed his arms during a battle, even if he wasn't fighting. There was definitely an uneasiness about the Namek that wasn't coming from the appearance of Cell.

Vegeta was thrown to the ground. A crater formed around the powered Super Saiyan ki. Recovering quickly, Vegeta spun in the air and shot straight up. Cell took off towards him, and the battle began again.

Piccolo suddenly found himself face to face with Goku. The Saiyan dropped his fingers from his forehead, and looked at Piccolo with concern.

Piccolo took a step back. The world around him froze.

"Piccolo...?" Goku asked, reaching out.

"N-no..." Piccolo stumbled another two steps back.

Cell stopped mid-battle, and turned to watch the scene unfolding.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Memories of pain filled Piccolo entirely. He heard echoes of his own screams of pain. And all he could see was that smile, that cruel and torturous smile taking so much pleasure. Revelling in the control.

"Piccolo?" Goku reached out a hand to his unresponsive friend. "What's wrong?"

Piccolo lashed out, striking Goku across the face and then backed up against the rock wall behind him.

The memories were mixing, and the line between recent and much older events were blurring. Piccolo slipped to the ground, giving in and forgetting all about hiding his fear.

Goku held his cheek where Piccolo had hit him, and looked down at the Namek, who had in seconds been reduced to sitting on the ground trembling.

Everyone was watching now.

Cell glared at Piccolo's behaviour. What right had Three to do this to him?

Dark clouds gathered above.

"Piccolo?" Goku asked in disbelief.

"S-stay away!" Piccolo warned.

Instinctively Goku began to move forward to comfort his friend, but stopped and moved back when he realized what it was doing. Goku found himself feeling very confused, and stuck.

Piccolo was whimpering. It was all replaying in his mind.

The fear.

The pain.

The shame.

Disbelief, horror, powerlessness.

The pain, all over again.

It was stuck in a never-ending loop he couldn't escape.

Why? Why? Why why why why why why why why why why why why why why?

Pain, again and again.

All movement on the battlefield had stopped.

Cell snarled. The Namek radiated pain. It was unbearable.

Goku spotted the tears running down Piccolo's face, and it snapped him out of his confusion. He moved over to Piccolo, and knelt down next to him, softly placing a hand on his arm.

"Please..." Piccolo moaned. "Please no..."

"What?" Goku asked, his voice a whisper. "What?"

"Not again, please let it stop!" Piccolo whimpered.

Goku moved to collect the poor Namek in his arms.

Piccolo realised this, and scrambled to his feet. Tripping on his own fear, Piccolo stumbled away from Goku and began running from plateau to plateau, not paying attention to where he was going, but what he was running from.

Goku tried to follow, but a sudden flash of green in front of him forced him to a grinding halt.

"That's enough!" Cell demanded, and dropped his feet to the ground.

"Cell, you monster! Can't you see Piccolo is in trouble?" Goku yelled at him.

"I can see that." Cell smirked. "I'm actually quite curious. What did you do?"

Loud thunder echoed across the desert.

"Odd." Yumcha commented. "Why is it echoing?"

"NINE!" A loud and powerful voice roared from the clouds. "YOU HAVE DISGRACED US WITH YOUR FOOLISH BEHAVIOUR. YOUR PUNISHMENT WILL NOT BE A STAY IN HELL LIKE LAST TIME."

"What's going on?" Goku exclaimed.

"YOU ARE MORTAL."

"WHAT?!" Cell yelled back.

"THAT IS THE PRICE YOU MUST PAY."

"NO!" Cell yelled, jumping up to the sky.

Suddenly, Cell felt all of his power being drained from him. He began to feel extremely tired and heavy, and very vulnerable.

"No..." He slurred, slowly floating back down.

"YOU ARE MORTAL."

-

It was a difficult situation. Anybody would agree with that. And there wasn't much in the way of options. So a strategic retreat was the intelligent thing to do, right? Nobody could blame him. Right?

At least, that was what Cell was telling himself as he ran as fast as his legs would take him, fearing for his dear life.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" He cried between panting and screaming.

"We won't fall for any of your tricks, Cell!" Vegeta yelled back.

"I'm sorry!!" Cell yelled.

Goku fazed in front of Cell!

Moving as fast as he could Cell made a skidding halt that would shame a baseball player and quickly took off to the right.

"Please don't kill me!" Cell yelled. "Ouch! Oh great, now I'm getting a stich!"

Poor Cell. It was almost as if the rocks were also against him that day, for just then one positioned itself under Cell's toe, and the killer android found himself face-down in the dirt.

"Why me?" He asked the ground. "Yikes!"

Cell covered his head as a large explosion sent rocks and dirt flying.

"Quit playing around, Cell." Goku yelled.

"He thinks I'm playing?!?" Cell squeaked to himself. "One was right, I should have never left the Powers!"

"This is your last chance!" Goku announced.

"What do I do?" Cell whined.

"KAAH-" Goku's signature call rang out through the desert. "MAAY-"

"Oh no." Cell gasped, turning his head away.

"HAAH- MAAY-"

A green hand shot up from the ground next to Cell and grabbed his arm.

"What?" Cell exclaimed.

"HAAA!!"

Everything for miles was lit with the brilliant blue light of Goku's Kamehameha Wave. Like a rocket, the ball of pure ki energy flew down to where the bio-android cowered in the dirt.

The explosion from the impact split the ground. Even those flying felt the tremors as the brighest light engulfed them all.

When all eyes adjusted back, all that could be seen was the falling dirt and a crater larger than any on the moon. Cell was nowhere to be seen.

"Alright!" Yumcha cheered when the dust had settled. "You did it, Goku!"

"No." Vegeta scanned the area with his eyes. "It was too easy."

The Z-fighters split up, searching for the Android.

"He's not here!" Gohan called eventually.

"Gohan's right. If he were still here, we'd have found him by now." Goku glared at the horizon.

"He must have Instant Transmissioned out at the last second." Vegeta turned to Goku. "What now?"

"We'll retreat, for now. We need to find him." Goku took one last look at the crater, and flew off to his son, and to Capsule Corp.

-

Cell was pulled from the dirt after being dragged underground for what seemed like miles by the mysterious green hand. He collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Thankyou." Cell wheezed. "If I weren't for you I'd be dead!"

He stood, and looked at his saviour.

"P-Piccolo?" He stuttered in disbelief.

Piccolo 'hmph'ed, and dusted off his arm.

"Why'd you save me? Weren't you chasing me with the others?" Cell asked.

"You saved me." Piccolo grunted. "I don't know what all that was back there with the clouds, and the voice, but you seemed like you were in some pretty deep trouble."

Piccolo dug his hands into his pockets and pulled out a Dyno-store capsule box. He opened it, grabbed two of the three capsules, closed it and put it in his pocket.

"Here." He said, chucking one to Cell. "You'll need a way out of here without being noticed."

Cell looked down at the capsule. "XT-17. That's a car."

"Just don't expect any more from me."

Piccolo decapsulised his motorbike. It was huge, obviously specially made to fit the enormous Namek.

"That's going unnoticed?" Cell muttered in disbelief.

"Motorbikes are more common than cars in a desert." Piccolo explained, sitting. "We part ways now, and this never happened, okay?"

"Wait!" Cell stepped forward. "I don't have anywhere to hide."

"Like I said, you're not getting anything else. You've already got my car." Piccolo pointed out, starting up the bike.

"What if I tell you everything?" Cell offered. "About the clouds, and the voice?"

Piccolo revved the bike.

"And... why Goku did it?"

Piccolo turned around, eyes wide.

"How did you know... about that?" Piccolo asked hoarsely.

"Will you help me find me a place?"

Piccolo paused, considering. He nodded, and turned back around.

"Get on."

Cell grinned and jumped on the bike, saddling behind Piccolo and gripping the Namek by the waist.

Piccolo revved the bike again, and took off towards East City.

-

Piccolo stopped by the edge of a town, unhooking Cell's arms from his waist and throwing his turban aside.

"Why are we stopping?" Cell asked.

"A big green guy in purple and white and another who looks a lot like Cell riding a large motorbike? Too obvious." Piccolo swung his leg over the bike, and removed his cape. "We need a change of threads."

Cell nodded.

There was a short pause. Piccolo stood by the bike, tapping his foot.

Cell frowned. Was something supposed to happen?

He got his answer. A second later, Piccolo shoved him off the bike.

"What was that for?" Cell demanded.

Piccolo swung up the seat of the bike and pulled out a set of clothes. Heavy leather jacket, black bandana, black bike gloves, black pants, black boots.

"Ahem." Piccolo made a 'turn around' motion with his finger.

Cell complied. When he turned around, Piccolo was looking every part the biker he was pretending to be.

One wave of Piccolo's hand, and Cell was wearing an identical black jacket and baggy camoflage pants.

"Yell at people along the way." Piccolo instructed. "People will think that piece on top is an act. Gang and intimidation thing."

"Okay." Cell nodded.

"Just one question before we keep going." Piccolo stuffed his purple gi back in the bike. "What are- I mean, what were you?"

Cell sighed. "The Power of Ascension. The Ninth of the Powers That Be."

Piccolo couldn't help but stare.

"I'm not anymore, I guess." Cell pulled at his jacket nervously.

Piccolo was stunned silent for a long time.

"Uh... We should keep going." He said eventually, trying to break the awkward moment. "You can tell me the rest when we get there."

"Where is 'there'?" Cell asked, as Piccolo got back on the bike.

"You'll see." Piccolo motioned for Cell to get on.

Soon, they were motoring down the road again.

-

"Okay, tell it to me again, because I'm not quite getting it. Exactly why are we hiding Cell? I mean, he's Cell!"

Minerva was flustered. She'd come home from a wonderful time with Geoff to find Piccolo missing. She began searching immediately for any reason why he would leave and any clues as to his destination.

She was just about to ring Big Joe when there was a knock at the door. She'd rushed to answer, thinking it was Piccolo.

It was Cell. By the time Piccolo came to the door, his old friend was already in a dead faint.

When she woke up, she insisted on talking to Piccolo privately. The two were sitting in the kitchen while Cell channel-surfed.

"I got him out of trouble. He insisted I hide him, said he'd tell me stuff in return. Big stuff." Piccolo explained.

"And you believed him?" Min was close to yelling.

"He saved me from Goku." Piccolo said quietly.

They both fell silent. Looking away from each other, unsure.

"Look, Piccolo... I need to tell you something. Geoff asked me to move in with him."

There was a small pause.

"I said yes."

"What?" Piccolo's head snapped up.

"Not straight away, of course. I wanted to make sure you'd be okay." Min sighed. "I'm not sure you will be, now. If Cell decided to try something... Well, you know what the apartment is like. Nobody could help you!"

"You don't trust me." Cell glared from the sofa.

"Didn't." Min half-smiled. "Piccolo is a very close friend. I don't want to lose him. Also, I'm moving out soon."

"How soon?" Piccolo asked.

"Maybe a week? Since I don't pay rent or anything, it's just filling out change-of-address forms for the post office and my boss, and packing my stuff."

Piccolo nodded.

"So which room is mine?" Cell asked perkily.

"When Min moves out, the spare room." Piccolo smiled, and walked over to a closet and pulled out blankets and pillows. "Until then, you get the sofa."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

Freeza kicked a pointed rock that lay on the cold stone floor of his jail cell. He could hear his Ginyu Force yelling from their own cell further down the mountain. In a stroke of pure genius, or maddened fury, Freeza had attacked them, and refused to settle until he erased them from existence. It had taken several of the best fighters of the Greater Plain to remove him from Burter, and had been forced into solitary confinement. Freeza took a moment to study his surroundings, before collapsing to the floor and stretching out his short arms and legs.

"Ahh," He sighed, wiggling his toes. "Alone at last. No noise, no smell, and space to myself."

He continued to lie there, slapping his tail against the floor.

"This is wonderful. I actually get light up here." He turned his head to look through the iron bars. "I had no idea there were birds down here. That chirping is rather pleasant."

He sat up. How could he hear birds? Had the Ginyu Force actually shut up?

He stood and walked to his bars, slipping his head through the bars and looking down. There seemed to be no movement from the Ginyu's cell.

"What do you know? It's a first." Freeza snorted to himself.

"Chirrrup!"

He looked up. Hovering in front of his cage was a small, black bird. Freeza stared in awe at the creature, perhaps for the first time in life or death, appreciating the sight of another being. He reached out his arm, stretching to touch the bird.

It flew away, diving down the mountain face into the Ginyu's cage.

Freeza frowned, pulling his hand back. Almost instantly, what looked like a wall of black flew past him, shutting out the light entering the cage. Freeza had only a moment to consider when the ceiling of his cell collapsed in, the black curtain demolishing it and slamming to the floor. Hastily, Freeza jumped back and used his tail to rebound off the back wall. He flew through the new opening and out into the orange clouded skies of Hell.

Freeza hadn't been alone in his attack. From his position high in the air, he could see the blackness enveloping the landscape of Hell. It moved like a wall of water or oil, targeting any soul it saw. Those fortunate enough to know how to fly had taken to the skies. One brave fighter had chosen to fly low, to get a better look. He was quickly swallowed.

"What is going on!" Freeza exclaimed, surveying the damage.

-

"Just what do you think you're doing with my stuff?" Minerva yelled in shock.

Cell turned from his crouched position by the sofa.

"I just figured that since I'm going to be sleeping here for a while, I might as well get the room the way I like it." He explained. "And I like a sleep with a view. I'm just going to move the sofa closer to the window is all."

Cell stood, lifting the end of the sofa.

"You're lifting it? Why not push it?" Min asked.

"The coffee table is in the way of that." Cell replied, lifting the sofa into the air, holding it vertically.

Min blinked. "I thought you lost your powers?"

"I- URK!" Cell buckled under the weight. "Can... handle it-"

Piccolo was stirred from his troubled sleep by a large crash.

Min tapped her foot.

"You can handle it, eh?" She stopped and put a hand to her head. "I'm watching Cell get squashed by a sofa! This feels like another weird drug trip."

Piccolo poked his head around the door frame.

"A little help?" Cell squeaked weakly, waving an arm from under the upholstery.

Piccolo lifted the sofa without a word and watched Cell crawl out of the way.

"My head..." Cell moaned, resting it in his hands. "I didn't know being mortal could be so painful."

"Just what were you doing with this?" Piccolo asked, indicating the furniture in his hands.

"Moving it to the window." Min answered. "He decided it was too difficult to push the coffee table out of the way and slide the sofa across the carpet. He opted to lift it."

"Move the coffee table?" Cell looked up. "I didn't think of that."

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it!" Cell phased in front of the door.

"No!" Piccolo and Min yelled simultaneously.

Cell swung open the door.

"Hey, I was in the neighbourhood, and I-"

Geoff stopped. And blinked. His mouth opened and closed with unformed words.

"Hello, mortal." Cell greeted cheerfully.

Geoff collapsed on the doormat.

"Geoff!" Min ran up to check her boyfriend.

"Hello mortal?" She screeched.

"What? What did I do?" Cell asked.

"That's it! No answering the door! Ever! Now help me lift Geoff onto the sofa!" Min glared at Cell, daring him to do otherwise, then stooped down to her boyfriend.

-

Goku sat cross-legged on the edge of the Lookout. He frowned in concentration, two fingers on his right hand raised to his forehead. Meanwhile, Dende, with the assistance of Tien and Yumcha, carried out of the main building a large crystal ball sitting atop a purple velvet cushion on a carved marble table.

"I didn't know the whole crystal ball thing actually worked." Yumcha commented. "I thought it was a bunch of baloney cooked up by the fake fortune tellers you see at carnivals."

"It had its roots in truth, but a ball must be carved from a special type of stone and have a special spell cast on it." Dende explained. "The purpose of a ball is specialised to one purpose. This ball may be able to show me any place on earth at one time, but it can't show me the future or the past, and it can't answer any questions like Baba's. Baba herself owns many balls."

"I see." Tien mused. "Where do you want it?"

"In the centre of the tower." Dende replied. "That's where the energies are strongest."

Vegeta watched in amusement as Goku faded from sight only to reappear seconds later for the fifth time.

"No luck Kakarrotto?" Vegeta chuckled.

"I don't understand it." Goku replied, leaning back with his hands on the tiles. "I mean, I should be able to instant transmission to Cell even if I can't sense his energy signature."

Vegeta straightened. "You can't sense him? I thought you had to know where you were going."

"No, I just need to know the signature, I don't need sense it." Goku scratched his head. "It's strange. It's like I take off towards Cell, and I get halfway before getting bounced back. Like there's a barrier in the way."

"He was in HFIL for a long time. Perhaps he figured out a way to stop the instant transmission?" Vegeta suggested.

Goku sat forward, raising his fingers to his head. "I can't find Piccolo either. It's the same thing. It's like I'm bouncing."

"Hnn." Vegeta turned the now glowing crystal ball.

"Oh magic crystal ball," Dende began, moving his hands in circular motions around the ball. "Ball with the power to see all and reveal all, grant me one small request that I make."

The light of the ball began throbbing.

Dende turned to Goku. "We can only find one of them. We can only ask it to find Cell, or to find Piccolo. After that, the ball will not grant anything until the next full moon."

"So we find Cell, right?" Yumcha asked.

"I don't know... I'm not sure we can win this without Piccolo." Goku stood up, and walked over. "Besides, he's really hurt and we don't know what's wrong. We should help him. Who knows what he might do?"

"But Goku, we owe it to all those people that might get hurt by Cell to try and take him out as quickly as possible." Tien argued.

"But..." Goku began, and then fell silent.

The loud sound of someone clearing their throat filled the Tower.

"Might I interrupt?" King Kai's voice echoed from the afterlife.

"King Kai! Hello!" Goku greeted him cheerfully, glad for an excuse to stop arguing.

"Goku. Listen, this is very important- something has attacked Hell. It emerged what would have been last night your time. It's been devouring souls, washing over them like a tide. There were a fortunate few with the ability to fly who got enough warning to take off out of reach. Goz and Mez set off an alarm with the higher plains and managed to evacuate a small group, including Freeza and a bunch of his crew, some Saiyans. Including the staff, a dozen were saved."

"What? That's terrible!" Goku exclaimed. "How could it happen?"

"We don't know much about it Goku, that's what makes it so dangerous! I heard from King Yema, and told Grand Kai, who is now finding Supreme Kai to inform him. From what we can tell, it's heading your way. To the Lower Plain. Be on the watch for anything and everything Goku, but don't try to fight it!"

"I see, King Kai, thankyou for warning us."

"I wasn't supposed to, but I couldn't let Earth go without a warning. Good luck!"

Vegeta snorted. "That's it? Be on the watch but don't do anything? He wants us to just sit and die?"

"Our situation just went from worse to impossible." Tien lowered his eyes to the floor, sounding exhausted.

Silence descended upon the tower.


End file.
